A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 153 - 152 Shen Jing, where have you been hiding_1

Who knows how he got sick? For instance, right now, he was facing the car window, letting the cold wind blow in, never turning on the heat.

Isn’t this just making a bad situation worse? And yet, he didn’t even feel cold.

Chen Yao said, "I’ll give you 5,000,000 as a service fee to call that sister back to keep you company."

Zhou Luchen, expressionless, replied mercilessly, "Want me to burn it for you?"

He was sick and his mood was offline. Chen Yao decided not to provoke him further and instead dragged him to a familiar hotel to stay in an entertainment suite. Chen Yao didn’t know what medicine to buy. It just seemed like a common cold, nothing life-threatening.

Look at him, still in the mood to play cards in the suite, barely touching his cigarettes. So, everyone else decided not to smoke either. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

If Shen Jing were here, she typically would have called by now, urging him to come home, cooing so sweetly that all his card-playing friends could hear. He would then immediately fold his hand and head home, doted on beyond belief. That’s what Chen Yao thought. Historically, around Zhou Luchen, Shen Jing was the only one whose coquetry always worked best.

「The next day.」

Shen Jing followed the address given by Grandma Xu and had just arrived at the teacher’s doorstep to pay a visit when she received a message.

——Why are you playing cat and mouse with him? He’s sick.

She sighed, pulling out that familiar number, but ultimately couldn’t bring herself to call. Having already arrived at the teacher’s doorstep, she knocked to pay her visit. She couldn’t have come all this way for nothing. When it came to a subject, she was stubborn; she always aimed for complete mastery.

By noon, after mostly finishing packing her luggage, Shen Jing booked a flight and checked out of the hotel.

She hurried back from An City to Shanghai and immediately phoned Zhuang Ming. Zhou Luchen wasn’t at Yunding. He was, indeed, down with a cold.

Bag in hand, she took the familiar route to the upper floors of the CBD Building. It was hard to imagine, if a mere branch of United Bank occupied such a tower, what the grandeur of its headquarters in Switzerland must be.

Li Heng had just finished instructing the investment department manager when he heard the elevator DING. The doors opened to reveal Shen Jing stepping out. Li Heng promptly stopped what he was doing. Without saying a word or asking any questions, he quietly walked ahead to lead the way.

This familiar routine wasn’t considered strange by anyone in the company. No one paid much attention to her presence. Shen Jing wasn’t acquainted with anyone, so naturally, she didn’t greet them. They continued with their work as she went straight to the president’s office.

Li Heng knocked on the door and then pushed it open.

From Shen Jing’s perspective, she could see Zhou Luchen leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed, resting. His female secretary was half-kneeling by the sofa, attentively taking care of him, covering him with a blanket.

"President Zhou, why haven’t you taken your medicine? If you don’t take it, the cough won’t get better and you might get a fever. I’ve warmed up some millet porridge for you. Should you get up and eat something first?"

Zhou Luchen merely lifted his eyelids to look at his secretary, his thick eyebrows seeming to convey affection. The secretary gazed at his face, her eyes filled with infatuation. Holding the millet porridge and a silver spoon, she prepared to feed Zhou Luchen.

Shen Jing saw all this, originally expecting Zhou Luchen to refuse.

One second, two seconds.

He made no move.

Shen Jing boldly pushed the door open wider and stepped in, her heels clicking.

The secretary immediately stood up, turning around.

Shen Jing looked at Zhou Luchen. "I knocked, but you didn’t respond."

Surprise flickered in his eyes, quickly replaced by a cold demeanor.

The secretary looked as if she wanted to ask who this intruder was and how she dared to burst into the president’s office.

"Secretary Song, there are documents to process. Come out for a moment," Li Heng said.

Only then did the secretary nod to Zhou Luchen. "Then I’ll get back to my work, President Zhou."

He hummed in acknowledgment.

Shen Jing stepped aside. As Secretary Song passed her, she cast a curious and perplexed look her way.

"Miss Shen, if you need anything, just press the assistant’s bell," Li Heng said as he closed the door.

Shen Jing nodded and approached Zhou Luchen.

Her gaze shifted downward.

The man on the sofa was lightly dressed. His eyes were bloodshot, holding a seductively hazy look. Shen Jing bent down and picked up the handmade wool blanket between two fingers, disdainfully tossing it aside. "If I hadn’t come back, is this how you’d let people take care of you?"

Zhou Luchen’s voice was lazy, his nasal tone even more pronounced, making it sound richer. "You took that away. Aren’t I going to be cold now?"

He still had the mood to tease her.

Shen Jing leisurely took off her coat, climbed onto the sofa, and lay down in Zhou Luchen’s arms. Zhou Luchen curled his lips, letting her rest her head on his arm.

Her hand felt his forehead. It wasn’t hot. So what kind of illness did he have? Chen Yao’s words were so unreliable, making her worry all the way here.

"You have a female secretary to practically undress for you; you might as well freeze to death."

He was expressionless, deliberately pressing his lips to her forehead before speaking. "The new transfer isn’t very bright."

Everyone who could get into United Bank was highly skilled. Was this secretary genuinely not smart, or was she feigning ignorance to ensnare the boss with a honey trap?

Shen Jing turned towards him and pinched his arm fiercely. The man groaned from deep within his throat.

"Second Young Master Zhou, with your renowned skills and surrounded by all those fawning women, can’t you tell who’s genuinely naive and who has ulterior motives?"

Suddenly, he laughed. "Jealous?"

Shen Jing was quite annoyed. He clearly saw through it all, yet his unrestrained nature meant he never rejected any advances.

She got up from Zhou Luchen’s side, looked around, saw the millet porridge, and also noticed the Cold Spirit Capsules.

Seeing the blatant jealousy in her eyes, Zhou Luchen chuckled and pulled her back by the waist. He then rested his head on her stomach like an ill-tempered large dog wanting to sleep. His actions were overly intimate, yet his expression remained perfectly serious.

Shen Jing’s words were laced with sarcasm. "You seem quite happy to accept her help. Are you planning to personally teach her how to do her job? So, a newcomer at United Bank can also enjoy the privilege of President Zhou’s private career coaching benefits."

His tone was thick with teasing. "Jingjing, are you here to call me to account?"

"Your eyes were glued to her," she said. "What young woman could withstand that deeply charming and seductive look from a handsome man like you?"

Zhou Luchen didn’t argue with her, nor did he try to comfort her. He buried his face in her abdomen, his warm breath fanning evenly across her skin. His voice was deep and muffled. "Where have you been hiding recently, huh?"

Now he was the one calling *her* to account.

Shen Jing explained, "Didn’t I tell you? I was going out to find a master. Grandma Xu introduced me to many people."

Zhou Luchen probably wasn’t listening at all. His voice was heavily nasal. "Feed me the medicine."

"You should turn on the heating from now on, and smoke less, okay?" she looked down at him.

The perpetually indulged Second Young Master Zhou merely gestured towards the cold medicine on the table, remaining silent.

Shen Jing really had no way of reining him in. A man constantly pursued with flattery and compliments—how could he possibly listen to her so easily?

Shen Jing scooted closer and picked up the medicine. After checking the instructions, she asked, "Did your female secretary pay for this out of her own pocket?"

"If I said she bought it..." Zhou Luchen hadn’t even finished speaking when she sneered, her displeasure obvious. The man tightened his hold around her waist and laughed. "Are you going to have a meltdown right here?"

Shen Jing smirked. "Go ahead, eat it. This medicine is quite expensive, you know."

Only then did Zhou Luchen say, "Zhuang Ming sent it."

Shen Jing took out a few capsules. "Be good and open your mouth."

The man looked up at her from her arms, his double eyelids lifting slightly at the corners, his eyes filled with mirth.

She stared into his fever-hazed eyes.

This time, the sick Second Young Master Zhou was unexpectedly obedient. This was probably the only time in his life he’d be like this.

The next second, Shen Jing was proven wrong.

Just as she was focused on feeding him the medicine, Zhou Luchen slipped a capsule between her lips with his finger. Her tongue went slightly numb, and her brows furrowed tightly. Soon, Zhou Luchen held the back of her head, intending to kiss her. He squinted, watching as she tensed up and closed her eyes in anticipation.

It seemed she had changed her lipstick shade. A thin layer of rose quartz pink, looking incredibly tender and irresistible.

Zhou Luchen’s expression held a hint of mockery, and he clearly didn’t intend to kiss her. "What if I infect you?"

Listen to that, he still has some conscience left.

Shen Jing licked the medicine, opening her eyes to ask, "What is this medicine?"

Zhou Luchen pulled her back into his arms in one swift motion. "Vitamin C," he said, his voice teasing.

Shen Jing bit into it and tasted it; a sour tang spread across her tongue.

Zhou Luchen’s illness wasn’t serious at all.

But he noticed that Shen Jing was always busy typing on her computer in the study at night.

She always said she needed to learn how to make money.